Bovine rotavirus (BRV) is a major cause of diarrhea in young calves. Infectious virions of BRV typically have a core protein designated VP2, an inner capsid protein designated VP6, and two outer capsid proteins designated VP4 and VP7. The BRV strains which infect both young and old animals are classified serologically into different groups and subgroups primarily on the basis of epitopes present on VP6. At present there are three BRV groups, designated A, B, and C, which are known to infect calves and adult cattle. The BRV groups are further classified into G serotypes on the basis of epitopes on VP7 and into P serotypes on the basis of epitopes present on VP4. This classification scheme provides important information about the strains of BRV infecting young calves.
Unfortunately, conventional serotyping methods do not permit separate analysis of rotavirus G and P types, and fail to detect subtypes or monotypes of a particular G serotype, limiting their usefulness for field samples.
Recently, a method for genotyping field isolates has been developed which is based on nucleic acid hybridization of probes to viral RNA. The genotyping permits the diagnosis of the strain infecting a particular animal. However the method is limited to diagnosing those strains for which certain genes sequences are known since the production of specific the probes requires knowledge of the gene sequence.
It would be desirable to know the sequences of genes of additional bovine rotavirus strains so as to design probes useful in the diagnosis of bovine rotavirus.